Fresh snow still caps the mountains and the Front Range remains soggy, but Colorado water experts say the heavy snow and rain in the past weeks won’t make up for a relatively dry winter.

“Overall, the runoff is expected to be lower than average across the state,” said Mike Gillespie, snow-survey supervisor for the National Resources Conservation Service.

Gillespie said that with statewide precipitation totals at about 87 percent of average, the chilly, wet weather would need to linger into June for a turnaround.

The recent wet weather did haul the state back from the brink of a year like 2002, one of the driest on record, said Treste Huse, service hydrologist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The wild card was the El Niño year,” she said. “It has brought a better chance of precipitation this late spring.”

Huse monitors the likelihood of flooding in Colorado and said she doesn’t see much chance of runoff-caused floods this season. “That doesn’t mean we won’t have flash flooding caused by rainstorms, though.”

Gillespie said he’s projecting runoff in the South Platte basin — which includes much of the Front Range — to be about 11 percent below average. But he’s more worried about areas west of the Continental Divide.

“The upper Colorado area from Granby to Steamboat is a problem area,” Gillespie said. “Those streams are anywhere from 50 to 75 percent of the average” runoff.

That could affect water flow for rafters, irrigation options for farmers and even fish, Gillespie said.

Still, Atkinson said he is keeping an eye on water levels. Low water levels can increase water temperatures in mountain streams and stress fish lurking in the depths.

“It’s like running a half marathon in 100-degree temperatures,” Atkinson said. In an effort to survive, the fish gather in pockets of cool water. “Then it becomes like the old adage, shooting fish in a barrel.”

In 2002, low water conditions prompted voluntary river closures to fishermen in an effort to save the fish.

Front Range fish have a whole different forecast, said Jeff Spohn, Colorado Division of Wildlife aquatic biologist for the upper South Platte drainage.

“You want enough water to keep your adults alive, but not too much so the little ones get swept away,” Spohn said. The South Platte’s slightly lower-than-normal runoff strikes a nice balance, he said.

That’s not the only bright spot in Colorado’s water forecast.

“Reservoir storage is the best it’s been since 2001,” Gillespie said, with statewide storage 12 percent above average.